The Most Beautiful Sunset in Istanbul

Do you know where to find the most beautiful sunset in Istanbul? On the Beşiktaş-Kadıköy ferry. Hop on the ferry around sunset (either direction works) and enjoy the sun setting behind Istanbul’s historic peninsula. The silhouette of the historic peninsula at sunset offers a magnificent view, instantly transporting you back in time. This is the very silhouette of Istanbul that Pierre Loti praised in his 1879 novel Aziyadé.

Here are a few photos I took while crossing the Bosphorus on a ferry (vapur) from Beşiktaş to Kadıköy one January evening. Istanbul’s ferries, locally called vapur, travel between two continents, Asia and Europe.

The word vapur comes from the French “Bateau à vapeur”, sometimes simply referred to as “vapeur”, which means steamboat in English (vapeur means steam).

Sunset in Istanbul
A beautiful sunset in Istanbul. A seagull is flying alongside the ferry. Seagulls in Istanbul do this because people aboard usually throw them pieces of simit, widely known as the Turkish bagel worldwide, a circular bread, typically encrusted with sesame seeds. People usually consume it with tea on the ferries in Istanbul.
Sunset in Istanbul
Sunset in Istanbul. The tall building on the center/right is the Galata Tower.
Sunset in Istanbul
Sunset in Istanbul. The sun is setting behind the famous Historic Peninsula of Istanbul. You can see some historically important buildings in this photo, from left to right the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet or Sultan Ahmed Mosque), the Hagia Sophia, the Beyazıt Tower (Bayezid Tower), the New Mosque (Turkish: Yeni Cami, a 17th-century mosque), and Süleymaniye Mosque (Suleiman the Magnificent’s mosque, a 16th-century mosque).

Sunset in Istanbul and the Historic Peninsula, the annotated version

Here’s the annotated version of the photo above, showing important buildings.

Sunset in Istanbul and the Historic Peninsula, the annotated version
Sunset in Istanbul and the Historic Peninsula, the annotated version of the photo above.
Vapur, Istanbul
Istanbul’s ferries, locally called “vapur”, travel between two continents, Asia and Europe.

Sources

Özgür Nevres
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